Notes on Limit and Nonlinear Elastic Analyses of Masonry Arches

This chapter is a critical presentation of studies over the last 10 years on the mechanical response of masonry arches and vaults. More precisely, we focus on a study of masonry arches conducted in parallel via both nonlinear elastic and limit analyses. The one-dimensional elastic model for masonry arches incorporates a simple but effective nonlinear constitutive law. In turn, collapse analysis is performed by the so-called ‘method of stability areas’, originally proposed by Durand-Claye in 1867. Rather than offering two alternative paths, the approaches may be considered complementary points of view on the same problem. A reasoned illustration of the concepts in question is furnished by the topics addressed: an analysis of the possible failure mechanisms of a pointed arch subject to its own weight; the search for explicit solutions to the equilibrium problem of a depressed arch subject to a uniformly distributed load; the study of arches of different shapes subject to their own weight and the weight of a superimposed wall.